The newspaper reported that the allegations have been referred to the state's Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) and involve a complaint about the appointment of Ms Middleditch's husband to a job with eHealth Queensland.

Queensland Health released a statement on January 1 confirming that it had stood aside “two senior officers following an internal complaint regarding recruitment processes”.

“The Department of Health will not be commenting on the current actions being undertaken in relation to the complaint,” a spokesperson said.

Mr McCririck was officially appointed to the combined CEO/CIO role on December 14, having acted as chief technology officer (CTO) for Queensland Health for most of the year.

eHealth Queensland is a new agency set up to combine the work of the Health Services Information Agency (HSIA) and the office of the chief health information officer.